Celtic draw Rangers in Scottish League Cup semi-final

Honestly, who didn’t see this coming — it will be Celtic vs. Rangers in the Scottish League Cup semi-final.

As the two Glasgow clubs made it through to the semi-final, it almost seemed like destiny to get these two sides together once again. This coming on the heels of the heated return to a rivalry that died in 2011 and only renewed with Rangers as they fought their way up the league ladder as a new club.

Celtic dispatched their rivals 5-1 at Paradise in their first league clash of the year just a few weeks ago. You can bet they are looking at doing the same in this return clash outside of league play.

Now the two will meet again on the weekend of Oct. 22 at Hampden, following Celtic’s 2-0 win over Alloa and Rangers’ 5-0 win over Queen of the South in quarter-final action.

It could be a measure of revenge for the Hoops, as they were kept from a domestic double last season in the Scottish FA Cup final. That was the first meeting between the two old rivals since Rangers’ rebirth following its dissolution in 2011.

With this match at the neutral site of Hampden, the hope has to be that neither side will be as aggetated as they were ahead of that last clash. There was a pair of blowup dolls hung in effigy from a Celtic supporter, meanwhile Rangers fans upset at that and the drubbing their team took, destroyed the away section bathroom at Celtic Park.

The other semi-final will see Aberdeen, a 1-0 winner over St. Johnston on Thursday night, take on the only non Premiership side — Morton.